immigration, the white house has a plan ready. president obama will lay it out today in las vegas. the white house says it's similar to what four democrats and republicans introduced monday. >> we're going to get pushback, but i think most americans are saying enough already. let's get this fixed. >> reporter: the plan puts illegal immigrants at the back of 9 line for citizenship after they passed background checks, paid fines and learned english. the key for conservative support will be if more border security comes first. >> no one should expect members of the senate are just going to rubber stamp what a group that met and decided. >> we will never put these individuals on a path to citizenship until we have fully secured our borders -- >> reporter: advocates for reform say they'll push the plan. >> we'll be marching and rallying and taking the streets. >> we have to support our haitian brothers and sisters, jamaican brothers and sisters. it's not just the latino community. >> reporter: the republicans

make no bones about it. >> the republican party is losing support of our hispanic citizens. >> reporter: 70% voted for president obama last fall. republicans want a chunk of that vote in 2016. now, that senate plan would actually track people who come into this country on visas and require immigrants to prove they've been working. >> lots of details to be worked out there. tracie potts in washington, thank you very much. more on that devastating fire that swept through a brazil nightclub, killing 230 people. police have detained four individuals, 75 people are still fighting for their lives in the hospital this morning. >> reporter: survivors said it was like a horror movie. turned death trap. >> i've been in the nightclub before. >> reporter: she narrowly escape. what did you see? >> people crying, people lying at my side. >> reporter: hundreds of others, including two of her friends,

did not. >> i lost very special people to me. >> reporter: the funerals began, so many dead, the coffins laid out in rows. found here by grieving loved ones. on saturday night they had packed the nightclub. survivors say the band set off pyrotechnics, catching the ceiling fire. confused security guards blocked the exit. audrey was knocked to the floor, she was trampled but she could breathe. >> thank you so much for that report. it's not official but monday the boy scouts of america announce plans to reverse a national ban on gay scouts and leaders. under the new rules there would no longer be a national policy on sexual orientation, rather local troops would decide the issue for themselves. in 2000 the supreme court upheld the scouts' right to refuse gay members. they reaffirmed their own policy as recently as seven months ago.

the boy scouts national board votes on this next week. insiders predicted it will pass and go into effect june 1st. some conservative family groups and church organizations are firmly opposed to this move. three months after superstorm sandy pounded the northeast, congress has approved a $50 billion emergency aid package. in a 62-36 vote the senate passed a bill to fund rebuilding of homes, businesses and other infrastructure damaged by the storm. the president applauded the move and said he'll sign the bill as soon as it gets to his desk. president obama hosted several law enforcement officials at the white house on monday in an effort to promote gun control legislation. now, at that meeting police chiefs from cities that have recently seen mass shootings, including newtown, connecticut, aurora, colorado, and tucson, arizona were there. obama used that occasion to push congress to approve gun measures to prevent mass shootings. the police chiefs urged the president to strengthen background checks and mental health systems but did not get

behind his more controversial gun control efforts. nevertheless, the white house called the meeting very productive. now for a look at the weather here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with a forecast. what have we got today? >> crazy day. extremes, possible tornadoes. this isn't a good day to be in the air. high temperatures yesterday across the country. if i just showed you this map alone and i had you guess what month of the year we were in, 74 in kansas city, 30s, you would say it was a march day, maybe early april. this is the heart of winter where we're this warm in the middle of the country. the jet stream was over the west that was just this huge dip with all the energy and rain that went through southern california and arizona. that is all on the move. when that hits the really warm air in the midwest today, we'll get a rare january severe weather outbreak, possibly tornadoes. we hit the high in kansas city at midnight by 5 degrees.

it's crazy. you don't hear of stuff like that. because of all that and the big storm coming through, we have a severe weather risk coming through, the state of arkansas has to watch out for tornadoes later on tonight. nothing like that in the west. we're watching actually a calmer weather forecast. although with the jet stream still diving down, we still have energy coming through the west. a few showers from seattle to portland. boise and salt lake city dealing with a little rain and snow mix depending on your elevation. it's quieter on the west than in the heartland, that's heart to . all the weather always starts in the west. they had the rain and stormy, and it's going to be worse in the middle of the country. did you see these pictures yet?

>> no. >> out of australia. they had the biblical rains that went through the reason. an old cyclone that died out and it just stalled over the region. it has cleared out. many of the rivers have peaked. they say this rainfall is just, you know, off the charts. and the flooding is unheard of in some of these areas. four people did die. hundreds had to be rescued from their homes. >> is it still raining or is this the aftereffects? >> it's done. now the clean-up will begin. >> we've been talking about for a few days the amount of rain they've gotten. straight ahead on tuesday morning, a queen abdicates to give her son a shot at thrown and general motors knocked from the top spoch in car sales. is this the world's newest threat? iranian space monkeys. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today." here are some other stories making news this morning. in egypt, anti-government protesters threw molotov cocktails at police who fired

tear gas there. they defied demonstrators president mohamed morsi's order. turkish leaders said an american woman missing in that country for a week also took several side trips outside of the country visiting munich and amsterdam. the woman's family said she kept in touch with them throughout her trip until she vanished. her husband and brother are in turkey to join that search. barbara walters is still in a hospital in new york, and it turns out that she has the chickenpox. which is very rare for an 83-year-old, but not life threatening. walters was originally treated after she fell and hit her head at the inauguration party. queen beatrix of the netherlands will step down after 33 years on the throne. she's abdicating so her son crown prince willem-alexander can become the first king in more than one century. and she can be there to watch that. iran says it successfully launched a rocket containing a monkey into earth orbit and brought it safely back. but the u.s. said it cannot

confirm whether that monkey actually ever went into space. and expressed concern that iran's space technology could also be used for a nuclear program. and incredible images of our closest neighbor in space, the andromeda galaxy only 2 1/2 million light years from our own milky way. the european space agency captured the pictures in the red areas near absolute zero. moving over to wall street, the dow opens at 13,881 after losing 14 points yesterday. still good numbers, though. the s&p was down 2, but the nasdaq gained 4. overseas the nikkei closed today but rose 42 and the hang seng lost 16. stocks took a breather from an eight-day bull run. we'll see if another onslaught of earnings can turn things around. after the closing bell, shares of yahoo! surged as investors cheered better than expected earnings and a slight uptick in revenue. in today's before the bell earnings action, a broad

economic snapshot from a dozen companies, including forbes, pfizer, pharmaceuticals and a.k. steel. and we'll see if amazon weathered the crucial holiday shopping season. i know i spnt a lot. also ahead today, the fed begins its first two-day powwow of the new year. speculation is the central bank will keep interest rates near record lows. on the street monday, bargain hunters scooped up apple stock after it tumbled 14% last week, putting apple back into the most valuable spot ahead of exxonmobil. also back on top, toyota, the automaker retook the title as the world's largest automaker thanks to a 23% surge in global sales last year. general motors announced it's spending millions to upgrade an assembly plant in kansas city where it produces the chevy malibu and buick lacrosse. meanwhile, calling out the pay

czar they call executive pay for companies bailed out by the government, including gm, insurer aig and allied financial. and we've all heard that chicken wings are more expensive this year, but come on, a chicken wing black market? two georgia men were arrested for allegedly stealing $65,000 of tyson frozen chicken wings. how many wings is that? 65,000? yeah that's a lot. straight ahead, what would you do if your bus driver passed out? luckily for some passengers, one man knew the answer to that. what lebron james said about his white house visit. and the newest additions to the world famous dog show. you're watching "early today."

you can always tweet us. to other stories that caught our eye this morning. we begin in new york where a city bus crashed into several parked cars during rush hour. 23 passengers were on board when the driver passed out behind the wheel, setting off that chaotic ordeal. a passenger grabbed the wheel and ended the wild ride before anyone was killed. next to a new york city suburb where a dramatic 911 call was placed as a plane began sinking into the hudson river. >> i'm on a plane -- >> okay. where is -- >> i'm going to lose you! i'm going to lose you! okay. >> well, the pilot and passenger were rescued and hospitalized for hypothermia. they're okay. in nebraska a tree came

crashing down nearly destroying a few homes. the collapse was due to erosion caused by a water main break. crews have removed the tree but are still having trouble plugging the rupture. a portion of miami international airport was transformed into a speedway. love these cars. lamborghini launching their latest luxury car pushing to 185 miles an hour during the speed tests. look at that beauty. they start at just under $400,000. i think it's a bargain. and finally, the big apple is buzzing over the two new breeds that will compete at this year's westminster kennel club dog show. russell terriers and treeing walker conconhounds have been invited to new york city for the annual competition. 3200 dogs are expected to compete for the best in show title next month. in sports we start with tiger woods at farmers insurance open. tiger won by 4 strokes as they completed play at tory pines in california. tiger became the first pga tour

player to win eight times at a single course capturing win number 75 of his career. in college basketball, number two kansas fought off a challenge from west virginia to extend the nation's longest winning streak to 18 games. the jayhawks over the mountaineers, 61-56. in the nba, memphis rallied from a 17-point deficit and rudy gay finished with 26 points against philadelphia. the grizzlies defeated the 76ers, 103-100. and president obama welcomed the nba champions the miami heat to the white house yesterday. the team gave the president a jersey with his name on it. superstar lebron james seemed awed at being there with the president. this is what he said. >> we're in the white house right now. this is like -- hey, mom, i made it. >> announcer: "early today" sports is brought to you by just for men mustache and beard. keep your edge. just ahead, meet the san francisco 49ers' secret super bowl weapon. tina fey reveals her dream project post "30 rock".

and taye diggs is your worst nightmare, criminals.

welcome back. here's a look at the radar out of the northwest. definitely from seattle f you're traveling through the passes, it's just a flow of moisture and the angle and temperature. gets a little difficult. we are seeing snow at high elevations. getting nailed in the mountains, too, of northeastern oregon. as far as the forecast goes, most of the city areas will be dry from medford southward.

recovery of temps a little bit. 69 in l.a. tomorrow more of the same for most areas. you can barely even tell the map changed. >> yeah, thanks, bill. "mean girls" fans and with "30 rock" ending thursday, tina fey looking for a new project. that may be a "mean girls" musical. lindsay lohan might have her fingers crossed there. i don't know if we do, though. well, taye diggs' night was just getting started after he left the s.a.g. awards sunday. the actor arrived home to find an intruder in his garage. diggs chased the man down and held him until the police arrived on the scene. >> good for him. >> good stuff. disney is putting a hold on remaining "star wars" 3d releases after release of the first one was a financial flop. the new owner of the franchise said they would rather focus on the development of the new

trilogy. rapper rick ross crashed his rolls-royce into an apartment building. the actor was not hurt. but it did call attention to recent threats made against his life. and kris jenner is finally getting what she has always wanted her own tv show. the kardashian matriarch will launch her own tv show. this summer giving her a platform to talk about life, love and of course the kardashian clan. i don't know if -- >> this is going to be interesting. it depends on who picks it it up and where it goes. daytime talk -- >> have you watched the original series? i'm not sure she can nersly handle the banter of what is a good talk show. >> we'll find out. >> we will. this comes to us from kntv bay area news where in walnut creek, california, a 49er fan was rewarded for his long support of the team. terry white is going to the super bowl courtesy of his favorite team's owner. white had planned to watch the game at home but was given game

tickets after san francisco owner jed york heard the die-hard fan attended every super bowl the niners have played in. of course, they have won all five of those game. all of my family went to every 49er game before they won. i'm richard lui, this is "early today," just your first stop of the day on your nbc station.

in israel, birds of a feather really do flock together. thousands of starlings in the sky create quite a phenomenon for onlookers on the ground. it looks really cool. doesn't look real. the birds fly in tight uniform

formation while hunting to follow their food and avoid predators. >> you know the movie "the mummy" -- >> yeah, exactly, like end of the world sort of stuff. they're looking for predators and finding strength in numbers, clearly. while the flocks are common in israel, starlings in these numbers have not been seen in over 20 years. some may seem out of reach but some can't wait to grab a paddle. nearly 200 kayakers came together to race their boats down snowy slopes. competitors maneuvered their kayaks around twists and turns of a specially made course. some jumps as well. some slid off the track on their way down. if they didn't land in fresh powder they raced across a watery finish line. don't forget the warm-up. around 5,000 competitors laced up for one of the world's most challenging races. the tough guy race dares participants to tackle an eight-mile run followed by 2 1/2 miles of fire pits, barbed wire and icy rivers. a 29-year-old german doctor took

first place for the third consecutive year. >> look at that. >> doesn't look good. but said this is the hardest race yet. i don't know if -- >> that's struggle in the muddy water. time now for an early look at some stories on our radar in the day ahead. in washington, the senate foreign relations committee votes on john kerry to be secretary of state. that happens today. a full senate vote could reach the floor this afternoon. meanwhile, outgoing secretary hillary clinton will hold a town hall style forum at state department, taking questions in person and online. daredevil nik wallenda is getting ready to perform his latest trick. yesterday he scoped out locations for a high-wire walk. 180 feet above his hometown of sarasota, florida. wallenda famously walked across niagara falls last june. and happy birthday to tv talk queen oprah winfrey. she turns 59 today. looking good. all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments on those stories and the best political analysis on msnbc. and tonight, be sure to watch

"nbc nightly news" with brian williams. and, finally, here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. matt sits down with al gore to talk about climate change and his vision for where the world is headed. and music mogul tommy mottola opens up about working with some of the biggest names in the business including ex-wife mariah carey. now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm richard lui along with bill karins. thanks for watching "early today." just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a good tuesday.

let the festivities begin. the super bowl events officially start today and we're live in new orleans with a look at what's in store for the red and

gold. it caught the attention of "sports illustrated" magazine. the picture she useded to show niners fans celebrating at a bay area bar. the buzz it is now causing in the sports world. right now we take you live to san francisco. that's the bay bridge. nice and smooth trafficwise there early on this tuesday, january 29th. this is "today in the bay." it is almost 4:31. good morning to one and all. i'm jon kelley. >> i'm laura garcia-cannon. lots to get to this morning. let's check the forecast. rob mayeda is in for christina this morning. >> we're seeing temperatures 30s and 40s outside. fog free. that's good news for your morning commute. 34 right now in napa and chilly 40 in san jose. this afternoon high clouds, sunshine and breezy. upper 50s close to 60 and